Canon Law, the oldest
continuously functioning legal system in the
western world,
is the
internal legal system
of the Catholic Church:

• Internal: canon law lies
wholly within
the Church's authority to compose and administer,
this, in contrast to the wide
variety of external (usually civil) laws to
which the Church generally defers in the pursuit of her
divine mission;

• Legal: canon law
operates according to the principles of law
chiefly as set out in Aristotelian-Thomistic
legal philosophy, this, in contrast to suggestions
that canon law is simply applied theology, morals, or
the rules of
religious cult;

• System: canon
law must be read as a whole for proper
understanding and use, this, in contrast to
suggestions that canon law is a collection of
principles or aphorisms that are capable of being rightly
appreciated in isolation from each other.

Canon law affects virtually every
aspect of the faith life of over one billion Catholic Christians
around the world. But, as Pope St. John Paul II explained when he
promulgated the Code in 1983, canon law "is in no way intended
as a substitute for faith, grace, charisms, and especially
charity in the life of the Church and of the faithful. On the
contrary, its purpose is rather to create such an order in the
ecclesial society that, while assigning the primacy to love, grace,
and charisms, it at the same time renders their organic
development easier in the life of both the ecclesial society and
the individual persons who belong to it." John Paul II, ap. con.
Sacrae disciplinae leges (1983) 16.
The more that Catholics understand their canonical rights and
duties, the more effectively they can partake in the Church's
mission. May the materials on this website further that
participation!

Modern Catholic canon law is "codified", that
is, it is contained within, presently, two integrated "codes" (one for the
Roman Church, one for the Eastern Churches).

Master Pageon the
Johanno-Pauline Code,in force in the Roman Catholic
Church since November 26, 1983.

The Johanno-Pauline Code of 1983 is the
primary legislative document of the Roman Catholic Church.
Promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II on 25 January 1983 and
taking force on the First Sunday of Advent that year (26
November), the 1983 Code replaces the Pio-Benedictine Code of
1917 and, alongside the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
of 1990, governs the faith life of over one billion Catholic
Christians around the world. Quick Links:
1983 Code (Latin) •
1983 Code (English).

Master Pageon the Pio-Benedictine
Code,in force in the Roman Catholic
Church from May 19, 1918, through November 25, 1983.

The Pio-Benedictine Code of 1917, the first
integrated code of canon law in the Catholic Church, was
promulgated by Pope Benedict XV on 27 May 1917 and took full
force on Pentecost 1918 (19 May). It replaced the Quinque
Libri Decretalium (1234) of Pope Gregory IX that had
governed the Roman Church for several centuries. The 1917 Code
was abrogated by the Johanno-Pauline Code of 1983. Quick
Links:
1917 Code (digitized).

The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches is
the first integrated code of canon law for the Eastern Catholic
Churches. Promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II on 18 October
1990 and taking force on 1 October 1991, the Eastern Code
replaced the four motu proprios that had, in part,
governed the Eastern Catholic Church during the second half of
the twentieth century. The Eastern Code stands alongside the
Johanno-Pauline Code of 1983 as a primary legislative document
of the Catholic Church today. Quick Links:
Eastern Code (Latin) •
Eastern Code (English)

Codificatio

Iuris Canonici Orientalis

I - IV

Collected

Canon Law

For many centuries Catholic canon law was
"collected", that is, it was found within compendia of official
documents, some of which compendia were themselves official,
while others were merely
private.

St. Raymond working on the Ius
Decretalium

Ius Decretalium or Decretals
of Gregory IX (an official collection, in force from 1234 to 1918)
Master Page

In recent years the study of Canon Law
underwent, for
various reasons, a lessening of interest, especially among
ecclesiastical students. This trend has had a certain disorientating
effect upon the Church.

Getting
started in canon law can be as simple as picking up a copy
of the Code and reading through it—which is what I did
back in 1980 when I happened upon this thing called "canon law"
during a legal history seminar at Tate Hall. As it turned out, I
was actually reading a
commentary on something called the "Pio-Benedictine Code"
(having never heard of either Pius or Benedict) written by, as I was later to learn, the
great American canonists Bouscaren & Ellis, which Code, as it happened,
was being completely revised at the time, but, never mind, I was
hooked. I perused those pages
unaware of just how deep were the waters into which I
was wading.

A professional knows the limits of
his knowledge. An amateur does not know the limits of his
knowledge. A dilettante does not know that there are any limits
to his knowledge.

If the cold reading of a legal tome is
not your cup of tea, trying starting with Pope John
Paul II's introductory essay (actually, it's an "apostolic
constitution" but no need get technical yet) to the
1983 Code, "Sacrae
disciplinae leges", remarks that are, by the way
addressed to all "members of the people of God". After that, one
might want to look some short essays by me, namely:

To access the 1983 Code of
Canon Law in its authoritative Latin text, go
here; for an authorized English translation of the 1983 Code, go
here; better, though, to
obtain a hard copy of:
Canon Law Society of America,
Code of Canon Law,
Latin-English Edition, New English Translation (Canon Law
Society of America, 1999) which provides the original Latin and
an improved English translation,
the official footnotes of the Code, good indexes, and some important supporting
documentation (such as ap. con. Pastor bonus on the Roman
Curia). For a list of other authorized vernacular translations of the 1983 Code,
go here.

A small but very important point
to assess is whether the canons in question have been subject
to "authentic interpretation" (c. 16 § 2), as listed
here. Additionally, the possibility that a canon or group of
canons have been treated in one or more "instructions" (c. 34)
must be considered.

Once the relevant canonical
texts have been identified, canonical research takes one of two
main directions, what I call "contemporary" or "historical".
Often, both avenues must be explored for a solid understanding
of the law; but most researchers will be with contemporary
resources.

• Contemporary research

Canon law, for reasons rooted in
the legislative supremacy characteristics (c. 16) of the ancient
Roman law whence it springs—and which characteristics best
reflect the ecclesiological implications of the divine
constitution of the Church—makes extensive use of scholarly
commentary for the elucidation of legal materials. The first
place one looks for canonical commentary today is the
great pan-textual commentaries on the 1983 Code. Next one
turns to scholarly articles in peer-reviewed canon law journals
and to canonical monograph series (see Rhode's list of publications here,
and the GB&I index of articles
here)
and/or to doctoral dissertations in canon law (North American
productions listed
here). Of special relevance to American researchers would be
treatments of canonical topics found in the
convention proceedings of the
Canon Law
Society of America and the annual
Advisory Opinions produced by the CLSA.

In transitioning from "contemporary" research
in canon to "historical", one will often benefit by examining
the legislative history of the canons in question, which
development can now be traced easily in Edward
Peters, Incrementa in
Progressu 1983 Codicis Iuris Canonici (Wilson & Lafleur,
2005) 1549 pp. Other resources for conducting legislative
history research are listed
here.

• Historical

research

The 1983 Code did not drop ready-made
from heaven, it did not leap Athena-like from the head of the pope,
and it was not drafted by the Conciliar Fathers in the final
sessions of Vatican II. Rather, the 1983 Code represents the
most recent formulation of a legal system that traces its roots
to the ancient Church, and indeed beyond.

The two most important and
direct sources for the 1983 Code are the Pio-Benedictine Code of
1917 and the documents of the Second Vatican Council
(1962-1965). More about researching the Second Vatican Council,
here.

The authoritative Latin text of
the Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law, often called the 1917
Code (and occasionally, though infelicitously, the 1918 Code)
can be found in PDF
here; the most useful English translation of the 1917 Code
is
mine: Edward Peters,
The 1917 or Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law in English
Translation with Extensive Scholarly Apparatus
(Ignatius Press, 2001) 777 pp., offering correlations to the
1983 Code, references to developments of the law as recorded in
the Canon Law Digest, and citations to English language
canonical dissertations on canons and groups of canons in the
Code. There are two Spanish translations of the entire
1917 Code and a number of good English paraphrases of some or
nearly all of the 1917 Code in various
pan textual commentaries thereon. As with the 1983 Code,
serious research into the 1917 Code will make use of journal
articles (for which no comprehensive indexing is available),
topical monographs (again, most of which must be found the
old-fashioned way), and canonical dissertations (some of which
are listed
here), others of which can be found [here].

Researching
pre-codified canon law, that is, canon law as it
existed prior to the 1917 Code, is possible, of course,
and at times very useful. Such research requires
facility with the footnotes of the Pio-Benedictine Code
(techniques explained
here) and access to the Corpus Iuris Canonici,
especially the
Quinque Libri Decretalium and its host of
commentators (some of whom are listed
here).

CANONICAL

LANGUAGES

Latin is the official language for
canon law, but English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish are
vital for modern canonical research. Important canonical
material is also found in Polish, Portuguese, and Dutch.

• Look, guys, you have to know where
various topics are treated in the Code. Nobody wants to sit
around while you leaf through the book looking for canons. R. Kennedy, CUA

• Compassion without
competence is a cruel hoax. J. Provost, CUA.

In recent years there has
been a growing desire among Catholic writers to see
canon law as an expression of theology and particularly
of ecclesiology. The structure of the Church, they
maintain, should reflect the theology of the Church and
the laws which establish and protect these structures
ought to be a faithful expression of dogmatic theology.
These laws should be, and should be seen to be, dogmatic
theology in the concrete, theology in action, applied
doctrine. Gallagher,
Canon Law (1978) at 90.

● The too rapid growth of
practice without a clear and solid theoretical
foundation has its most serious consequences in
confusion regarding the very foundations of law. R. Burke,
Discretion of
Judgment (1986) at 85.

You should also learn to understand
and—dare
I say it—to
love canon law, appreciating how necessary it is and valuing its
practical applications: a society without law would be a society
without rights. Law is the condition of love!

Notice:
The materials on this site represent the opinions of Dr. Edward
Peters and do not necessarily reflect the views of others with
whom he might be associated. Materials offered here are for
informational and educational purposes only and are not intended
as civil or canonical advice. I strive to present my views in
accord with Canon 212 § 3, but I submit all to the
judgment of the competent ecclesiastical authority.